Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to assess the number of dentists scheduled to have taken the part 2 exam since the start of the covid-19 outbreak; what constraints there are to taking the ORE assessment for British citizens and others; what steps he will take to suspend or overcome the impact of the five year limit; and what the outcome has been relevant discussions with the General Dental Council on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

The Dentists Act 1984 requires overseas applicants to the General Dental Council’s register to undertake its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) to confirm they have the requisite skills and knowledge to practise dentistry in the United Kingdom. This legislation restricts system capacity, including the availability of places on the ORE exam. The Department is currently working with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals to allow it greater flexibility to expand the registration routes open to international applicants.

Safety restrictions brought in as part of the COVID-19 response made it necessary for the General Dental Council to suspend Parts 1 and 2 of the ORE in April 2020. On 2 December 2021, it announced a planned sitting of the Part 2 exam in January 2022. The legislation also restricts Part 2 ORE places being offered to candidates where five or more years have passed since they first attempted Part 1 of the exam. Therefore, the General Dental Council has not been able to offer places for the January 2022 sitting to any candidates whose five-year period expired during the time that the ORE has been suspended. Before the pandemic, three sittings a year were offered for the Part 2 exam, each with a capacity of 144 candidates.

Officials are working with the General Dental Council to develop proposals which will provide candidates with additional time to take the Part 2 assessment in the future. We plan to consult on this proposed legislative change, alongside proposals to change the Council’s international registration processes, in early 2022.